The role of grit and enjoyment in EFL learners’ willingness to communicate in Saudi Arabia and Morocco: a cross-cultural study

Abstract

ABSTRACT There has been a growing interest in investigating the intricate connections between different emotions and personality dimensions, such as grit, that affect second language (L2) learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. This cross-cultural study aims to contribute to this line of research by investigating whether or not grit and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) are predictors of L2 WTC among Saudi and Moroccan college-level English as a foreign language (EFL) students. The study included 446 participants from Saudi Arabia (n = 228) and Morocco (n = 218). A questionnaire administered online was utilised to collect data. According to the findings of structural equation modelling (SEM), grit and FLE were significant predictors of L2 WTC in Saudi and Moroccan students. In addition, while grit had a stronger significant predictor of L2 WTC among Moroccan students, FLE was a stronger significant predictor of L2 WTC among Saudi students than grit. Pedagogical implications are discussed based on the study findings, as are the implications of the different contextual influences and levels of multilingualism.